![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=118&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=d94858842261c8b6f30c3c9c0bfcebdc 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=236&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=a35e6651f9ea502c5c2cfd3a89431ca7 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=432&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=68ea5cd43cf920fe178eaecd133f5ebc 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=576&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=fcb01593555bd4a2ac5bb662f43a7f7e 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=788&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=608e7c02bf8e8bbdd6f5a5a787b9dc8c 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=900&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=1c97409ae6f5850afc5472a1c8296ef2 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1080&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=620660f15c6b69f01da0c16fa19c78b1 1920w)
It’s clear that the ideals and trends of the millennial demographic – blurring the lines between work and home, finding community in new places, protecting our future – are infiltrating the way we design our office spaces, even for the most corporate of firms. The focus is now on flexibility and adaptability, on sustainability, on using technology to enable new methods of working, on community and amenities in the workplace.
London leads the world in many areas of workplace design, but when it comes to ‘agile working’ – a phrase that came up multiple times over the BCO conference and has become a buzzword in UK development circles – Australia is streets ahead of the UK. They put it down to being more ‘direct communicators’ (you can say that again!), but they also employ far greater levels of intelligence monitoring across their buildings.
Back in the day, agile working was known as ‘hot desking’, but technology has evolved (and so too the moniker) to enable this to be far more effective, with building systems in place that can track who is working, understand what they need and allocate space accordingly. This reduces desk numbers, makes the space more efficient and provides flexibility for future growth. Our 5 Broadgate development for UBS is the largest such scheme in London – agile working was a key factor in allowing the company to consolidate its London offices into one. But Australia is stealing a march on this. It’s a trend we should watch. There is a wealth of young, creative talent in that region of the world, and we should be looking and learning.
This idea of observation brings me to my last point: that of Brexit. Yes, all eyes of the world are on us, virtually everyone I met with queried or mentioned Brexit. It seems people are sceptical as to whether withdrawing from the EU is such a good idea. In this ‘local global’ world we live in, everyone has a stake or an investment in the UK, and the uncertainty around Brexit negotiations is having a concerning ripple effect.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=140&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=05397b550086dbc6fd81cf0b403c54e2 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=8421cd8546bd3d89648335cbf2fd5a51 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=512&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=337ae4e5b02a09b7e1777d28aac4f85d 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=683&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=2a08ed26b64134012787030801255d7d 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=934&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=a1f865123a01d705d7cb490455073493 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1067&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=cfe59a5c28eeb1ff1b5bb19d84f92ac2 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FAustralia-visit-Make-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=8f981920b34b4cab394e9e1fe9f5abee 1920w)
In years to come we’ll be looking to our young, creative talents to help us navigate our place in the world. Let’s hope we leave them with the infrastructure to do it – both physically and metaphorically.